This Is Why BAME Pensioners Are Thousands of Pounds A Year Worse Off Than White People

Cicely Ferguson, 59, has no pension savings. Nor do most of her family or friends.

Originally from Antigua, she feels her reluctance is cultural – and she’s not alone.

Recent research from The People’s Pension showed that people from minority ethnic backgrounds are losing out when it comes to pensions, with the average pensioner from a BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) family £3,350 a year worse off.

Analysis from the pension provider shows the average BAME pensioner’s income is 24.4% less than their white counterparts.

Cecily, who is semi-retired and ran her own business specialising in window furnishings, moved to the UK 20 years ago and lives in south-east London with her daughter.

The mum-of-two says she is suspicious of pensions, describing them as “uncharted waters”.

And she says she isn’t the slightest bit surprised by the size of the pensions gap.

“They are just not something people I know invest in,” she said. In Antigua, she added, “there just doesn’t seem to be that knowledge of pensions like there is over in the UK”.

Cicely says pensions hold uncertainty for her. “You know where you are with bricks and mortar.” she said. “I know that there is something there for me in the future – you can see it grow.

“So while I am without a pension, I have the knowledge that I can fall back on property. I am semi-retired now and although I don’t have that regular monthly income coming in, I do know that I have got my property.

“That is my pension and I am happy with what I have for my retirement.”

The People’s Pension’s report Measuring The Ethnicity Pension Gap reveals that the gap is even greater when gender is taken into account, too. On average, the gap in annual pension income between a female pensioner from an ethnic minority and a white male pensioner is 51.4%.

The reasons are complex: labour market factors, lower average earnings, variable employment rates and the greater likelihood of ethnic minority workers being self-employed.

Some of the people who spoke to HuffPost UK cited cultural and generational factors; a greater focus on providing for the family and children in the here and now rather than thinking about the future; a lack of awareness and education about pensions – and the fact there is an ethnic minority pay gap leading to these employees being paid less over their lifetime.

“You Aren’t Really Taught About Pensions Or Life Skills At School”

Annila Saghir, 28, lives in Peterborough and is a customer experience manager at King’s Cross station. She believes there needs to be a lot more awareness and education about pensions to help bring the savings of BAME people in line with those of white people.

She told HuffPost UK her mum works as a primary school teacher and pays into her workplace pension, but her dad was a self-employed taxi driver for many years and did not have one.

“My dad was always working and saving – but not for a pension,” she said. “He was building foundations for himself and his family.

“He is now a business owner and has only been putting into a private pension for the last 10 years because I told him to. He has a lot of catching up to do.

“To this day, he still has this concept of: ‘I have got savings – I’ll be fine.’ I feel it is because pension contributions come out of your wages but you don’t see it until retirement.

“I think it is a generational and cultural issue and there needs to be more education and awareness.”

Annila began working on the railways at 21. When she was first given a pensions pack, she dismissed it as being of no benefit. It wasn’t until a year later that she started reading up on the scheme.

“I looked into how it would benefit me and pictured myself as a 55-year-old and thought about what kind of life I’d like to lead.

“Unlike my parents, I am a rubbish saver and, to me, my pension is saving for my future. As it comes out of my wages, it doesn’t feel like I am spending money.”

Annila feels there needs to be more education about pensions at a younger age – not just for people from ethnic minority communities, but everyone.

“You aren’t really taught about pensions or life skills at school.” she said. “There’s no point teaching me a formula in maths I’ll never use. Teach me about pensions or mortgages instead.

“My Mum Has Never Had The Luxury To Think About The Future As She Is Always Thinking About Making Ends Meet”

Software engineer Vaishal Patel, 27, describes his mum Bharti as his “best friend” and has watched her work hard to provide for the family throughout his life.

Now 67, she should by rights be retired, but is working two jobs as she still has a mortgage and bills to pay.

Vaishal told HuffPost UK: “My mum works as a cleaner at a college from 6am to 11am and then from 11am to 4pm. She does cooking there as a catering assistant.

“My mum has been in this country since she was about 20 and has always worked hard. At one point, when I was younger, she had five jobs cooking and cleaning.

“She has never had the luxury to breathe and think about the future as she has always been thinking about making ends meet.

“But she also enjoys working and grafting and prefers to keep busy and contribute to society. She says as long as her legs allow it, she will keep working.”

Vaishal says his mum does have a pension but took a lump sum from it early to help out his brother so only now gets a small payment.

From a personal perspective, Vaishal admits the future seems far away and that he prefers to enjoy life now – but he also likes to have a contingency plan.

“It is not something I stress about, but I pay the statutory amount into my pension and my employer makes a contribution and I also top it up with an extra £25 a month.

“I have a knack for splurging and spending money so it is good to have a pension as a contingency plan for peace of mind.”

Vaishal also bought a house at the age of 23 and aims to have it paid off by the age of 38. “Property is bought on borrowed money,” he said, “and I feel I can’t say it is really mine until I have paid it off. It is another foundation for my future.”

“There Are Still Too Few People From Ethnic Minority Backgrounds Getting Into Higher Paid Roles”

Alicia Howard, who lives in Formby, Merseyside, has a white British father and a Black Caribbean mum.

Her grandparents were originally from Barbados, and her mum – who died when Alicia was 17 – was born in Liverpool.

Alicia works as a civil servant for the government, meaning she automatically has money taken from her salary and put into her pension.

“As I am young and don’t have a family of my own yet to worry about, pensions are something I never gave much thought to,” she said. “I would rather have assets such as a house.

“But everyone always says civil service pensions are good so I knew it was important to pay into it. My dad was in the police and recently retired and is getting his pension.”

Alicia feels shocked and saddened at the ethnic minority pensions gap and feels the pay gap is a factor.

She said: “There are still too few people from ethnic minority backgrounds rising through the ranks and getting into higher paid roles. Maybe not as many people from ethnic minorities are working in certain fields where the pensions are better.

“Pensions are a percentage of your salary, so if you get paid less, you’ll get less of a pension.

“It is really sad to know that people from ethnic minorities are retiring on almost £3,500 less a year than other people.

“People are starting to realise it is a problem and hopefully things will be better in years to come.”

“My Parents’ Investment Was In Their Children Rather Than Their Own Future”

Zoya Mir, 29, lives in Slough and is a product set-up specialist in a department store. She says her parents did not have pensions themselves but encouraged her to invest in one at the earliest opportunity.

Zoya told HuffPost UK: “My father has been self employed all his life and owned a minicab company.

“His focus was always on things like putting food on the table and petrol in the car and making sure his employees were paid as opposed to thinking 20 or 30 years in the future.

“My mother worked for one company for the majority of her career but they did not offer a pension until the legislation kicked in a few years ago.”

Zoya believes the issue is both a generational and cultural one. For her parents and many like them who came to the UK, their focus was on what they could give their family and children now, rather than thinking about their own future and retirement.

“Their investment was in their children rather than their own future,” she said. “It is depressing but I am thankful for everything they have done for us.

“Even though they didn’t pay into a pension themselves, they encouraged us to do so. They want to make sure their children look after their futures.

“I have been paying the maximum I can afford into my pension since I started work and my parents really encouraged that.

“In the long term, I will hopefully reap the rewards.”

Zoya also feels lower wages and unconscious bias still make it harder for people from ethnic minority backgrounds to attain higher positions in employment.

“There has been a lot of progress, but we are not quite there with treating people with what they are worth,” she said.

“These biases are not always conscious but they do exist.”

The Confederation of British Industry says companies should start publishing their ethnic minority pay gaps before being forced to by the government.

It says while the government might take action on ethnic pay reporting like it did on gender pay gaps, businesses should get ahead of the curve. Racial equality could boost the economy by £24bn a year, it adds.

Matthew Fell, the CBI’s chief UK policy director, said: “Closing the UK’s ethnicity pay gap is about making our society fairer and overcoming inequality at work.

“Diverse companies are better companies.”

The People’s Pension, a not-for-profit, auto-enrolment pension provider, is calling on the government to make reforms to criteria for auto enrolment to reduce the ethnicity pensions gap over the long term.

This includes lowering the amount workers need to earn to be eligible for a workplace pension from £10,000 a year to just over £6,000 and making pensions contributions count from the first pound earned.

The People’s Pension also wants to see an independent pension commission to monitor and address ethnicity pension inequalities.